What, me worry?

Maybe we worry too much about retirees. As a group, they are more likely than working people to describe their finances as comfortable, according to a new poll.

How can this be? Aren’t oppressively low bank rates crushing the lifestyle of folks concentrated in conservative investments? Hasn’t the housing bust wiped out much of their home-equity safety net? Weren’t many forced to sell assets at low prices to make ends meet?

The answer to these questions is, in part, yes. Yet 75% of retirees report that they are financially comfortable right now, Gallup reports. That tops the 67% of working people who claim to be financially comfortable and suggests that whatever economic hardships have befallen elders, they are no more painful than those that have afflicted working folks.

On its face, the comfort level that retirees express is confounding. Low rates have curbed income, rendered fixed annuities a costly solution, and jacked up the premiums on long-term-care insurance, among other things. Meanwhile, retirees are far more likely to report less income than working people.